How to communicate with teens

We all want to have an open communication with our teenager and how do you accomplish that? Well, it doesn't start when they're teenager. It starts when they're young child. Being open with your child as they're growing up and discussing topics that maybe a little bit taboo or a little bit uncomfortable for you will encourage and model sort of open communication for later on when they're teenagers. Sometimes, there are issues that you don't know how to bring up with your teen but you want to discuss them and sometimes there are television shows or movies that touch on those subjects and can be conversation starters. There are studies that look at parents who talk to their children about sensitive topics when they're younger and it turns out that later on those teens end up coming back and talking to their parents more readily.

Lisa Stern, MD

Pediatrician

Dr. Lisa is a pediatrician at Tenth Street Pediatrics in Santa Monica. Following her training at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles and UCLA Medical Center she began to practice a style of medicine that encourages a common sense approach to health and wellness. She empowers parents to use the resources available to them and teaches them to trust their own judgment. She feels strongly that people come to parenthood with their own history and it is valuable to have a objective third party to discuss the big and small issues that parents face on a daily basis. Lisa's patients range from healthy children to those with complex medical histories.

We all want to have an open communication with our teenager and how do you accomplish that? Well, it doesn't start when they're teenager. It starts when they're young child. Being open with your child as they're growing up and discussing topics that maybe a little bit taboo or a little bit uncomfortable for you will encourage and model sort of open communication for later on when they're teenagers. Sometimes, there are issues that you don't know how to bring up with your teen but you want to discuss them and sometimes there are television shows or movies that touch on those subjects and can be conversation starters. There are studies that look at parents who talk to their children about sensitive topics when they're younger and it turns out that later on those teens end up coming back and talking to their parents more readily.